As you know, almost all hard use items reach a point at which replacement is the best option, and this appears to be the case with your saddle. I am sorry to inform you that the saddle you asked me to repair appears to be beyond reasonable repair. a better indication than what it looks like. I find the feel of the leather and how it is reacting to bending, stretching, etc. Worn leather on the seat jockey may or may not be depending on the riding conditions and who is doing the riding. Degradation in the rigging is a safety issue. You should take into account what parts of the saddle you are working on.

There is definitely a point at which leather is beyond being able to be salvaged. And no product can eliminate or reverse the effects of red rot. Also, you should not use water on leather that is flaking or damaged. One of the several potential problems with this, is that you have then raised the humidity tremendously and it's possible that mold spores will be activated. There are products in the Preservation solutions line that can then be added that will migrate into the leather, replacing the water, and allowing it to maintain the flexibility. If the leather is stiff, but not flaking or degraded in other ways, then sometimes laying a wet towel over the stiff parts and covering with a plastic bag for a couple of hours may soften the leather. But in my experience on leather that is 'stiff as a board' you would have to add way too much oil to get flexibility. Certainly some flexibility can be returned to leather by oiling. I've only been doing this for about a year but I've worked with a lot of saddles in that time.

Houma leather bag repair